Dreaming Spies is the first book from author Laurie R King that I read. I’d been meaning to read Mary Russell’s adventures for a while, so when I saw this book and its praise as a novel of suspense, blackmail, fraud, conspiracy and espionage that included the wonderful Sherlock Holmes, I knew I had to read it. I also knew this wasn’t going to be a full Homes mystery, but I was excited to read how this dynamic duo behaved together.

Dreaming Spies is divided into 3 parts. It starts in Sussex and Oxford, then we take a trip from India to Japan where we stay for part 2 of the book and then we’re back to Oxford where it all ties up. In all honesty I think Book 1 could’ve been edited because nothing exciting happened. Book 2 was better than the first, more action and drama, but my favorite part was book 3, which is when we finally see the mystery unfold.

My problems with this book:1.I had a hard time getting into the story.2.It moved to lowly for my taste.3.Too many redundant and endless descriptions that make you feel blasé.4.The book focuses too much on the description and leaves the mystery to be solved and the interaction between Russell and Holmes in a second place. (more about this on the full review on my blog.)

What I take from this book:1. The Haikus at the beginning of each chapter.2. The Holmes-Russell duo action. 3. Everything tied up well in the end. (more about this on the full review on my blog.)

Having read Dreaming Spies, I don’t feel motivated to check out the other books in this series. So in terms of recommending it, I guess I can say that if you’re looking for an action packed, fast-paced, exciting mystery featuring Holmes and Russell, this is not the book for you. If you want to earn extensive knowledge of what it was like to travel by sea from India to Japan in the 1920’s, this is the book for you. If you want to learn about Japan, the Japanese culture, and ninjas, this is the book for you. And of course, if you are a fan of Laurie R King and her Mary Russell series, this is the book for you.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

I received an Electronic copy of this book but was not financially compensated in any way nor obliged to review. The opinions expressed are my own and are based on my personal experience while reading it. This post contains affiliate links.

I’ll say this, that cover is captivating and the blurb intriguing; the story in itself warrants props for making the heroine some kind of anti-hero with internal conflict for loving the enemy and betraying her kind. But, and sorry if there is a but, it's not all it's cracked up to be.

We have “Ella” who is in fact an assassin sent to kill her people’s worst enemy, or rather, to kill the one person that according to prophesy will be the end of them all. We meet her at what appears to be the end of a ball, hence the reference to Cinderella and a prince. The prince wants to live a normal life thus prefers to travel with no guard even though they all know they are hired assassins out to get him. As fate would have it, Ella the greatest and best of the assassins sent, makes a life changing decision that alters the lives of everyone in this world.

So, as I was reading this story and I kept putting it down, I just kept thinking: it’s a decent story, why do I keep dozing off? Why doesn’t it hold my interest? And so it hit me, it’s not the story, or the plot, it was the narrative. More than half the time it was told in a passive voice and told at a rather slow pace. I had a hard keeping track of the characters not because there were too many of them but because they all showed up at random times with no previous introduction. During dialogue, the conversation was separated by quotation marks but it was not acknowledged who had made the talking until later and well, by that time I had already lost track of what had been said.

Perhaps I’m just not used to this kind of writing. I mean, I’m no expert and although I consider myself an avid reader I don’t think I’ve ever come across a book told in this manner. I suppose other fantasy lovers may enjoy it if they find this kind of prose engaging. As it is, I can only give it 3 stars and only because I found the plot to be imaginative but that’s really pushing it.

The Glittering World was a book that I chose to read solely for the cover. Yes, it was pure cover love for me. I then read the blurb and for some reason I thought it has going to be a dark fairy tale. I was in the mood for some adult fantasy, so I had to check it out.

The Glittering World is the story of 4 friends, Blue, Elisa, Jason and Gabe, who travel from New York to Cape Breton to sell a house that Blue inherited from his grandmother. What they thought was going to be a cool road trip between friends turns out to be the you could say trip of their life time. Shortly after arriving to the house and getting acquainted with the locals, Blue remembers secrets from his past that help him discover who and what he really is. Dun dun dun! The trip then gets complicated after Blue and Elisa mysteriously disappear. Jason and Gabe are left with the mission to find them. As they search for them, the mysteries that lay behind below an abandoned artists’ colony are unveiled.

After reading the first two chapters I was hooked and intrigued. Blue seemed like a tortured soul. The introduction to his character and his woes was good. I didn’t understand why this was so important because I wanted the fairies or whatever strange creatures this book was going to be about to pop up. I was anxious for fantasy.

I kept reading and it got weird but in good way. The author had me with the creepy dark luminous fairies. As the story progressed it got creepier and darker. The plot is divided into 4 parts. Each part is narrated by one of the four main characters, starting with Blue, then Jason, followed by Elisa and it ends with Gabe. Since part two I was dying to know Gabe’s side of the story. I thought it had to be creepy weird, and I wasn’t wrong.

The Glittering World was a confusingly addictive adult read. It is an utterly wild ride. Strange, gross at times and different from everything I’ve read. It is a fast paced read that you can’t put down. I would describe it like a maze, once you get in on one side, you can’t go back. You just have to keep going until the end. You might get disoriented and or lost inside it, but once you start it, you can’t stop until you get out of it.

I liked this book and gave it 3 stars. I didn’t give it a higher rating for the reasons I state in the full review on my blog.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

I received an Electronic copy of this book but was not financially compensated in any way nor obliged to review. The opinions expressed are my own and are based on my personal experience while reading it. This post contains affiliate links.

I haz mixed feelings about this book and that makes me very sad. I really wanted to love it and love it I did not.

Before getting into the nitty gritty, I just wanted to give a shout out to whoever was in charge of all the artwork on the pages and whoever was in charge of the cover because holy guacamole, can I get a GORGEOUSSSSS?

On to more serious stuff though. Lady A was not exactly what I expected. She is not nearly as badass as I had imagined her to be. I wanted to be blown away by her badassery. I wanted to cheer her on as she dealt with the nobility and watched them shrink in fear but sadly that’s not what happened because Arista, aka Lady A, does not enjoy blackmailing the nobility. Alas her soul is not as dark as mine and she hates the life she lives. She would do anything to get out of it (and rightfully so because her ‘master’ is a complete waste of oxygen.)

I just really have a thing for books involving crime okay? I love seeing people be manipulated and not even know it's happening. I LOVE all the cleverness usually involved in books where the main character is part of the crime life but that’s not what I got in this book which would explain my reaction. Now please understand that a lot of this is just personal taste and not really reflective of the book because in spite of my expectations, I actually found myself warming up to Lady A. Sometimes she was a little too loyal in my opinion (given the way she had grown up I kind of expected her to be hardened instead of being soft in terms of the people she has emotional connections with) but in the long run, she was just a young girl trying to make the best of her resources to figure the best way out of a life she wants nothing to do with. I even enjoyed seeing her come across barriers she should have been able to account for but couldn’t because no one can think of everything.

I loved that she was faced with challenges that might have seemed obvious to the reader (and weren’t even major twists or anything) but the actual truth is that no one can be all knowing and more likely than not, things aren’t going to turn out the way you want them to.

My biggest issue with this book was the romance. I didn’t like it. At the beginning of the novel Arista clearly has a crush on Nic but then suddenly she meets Grae and her feelings just disappear. I am appreciative of the fact that there was no love triangle but seriously. Feelings don’t just vazoom (aka disappear)! I also just didn’t like Grae. It’s not that he was bad by any means. He was a sweetheart and treated Arista with the respect she deserved and blah blah blah. My problem was that I didn’t understand his fascination with Arista and I didn’t like how he was casted as Arista’s savior.That girl has brains and is clever, she can save herself. She is a young independent woman who don’t need no man! (although romantic interests can be fun) I think Grae contrasted her character so much it almost made Arista seem helpless when she isn’t.

My favorite character was obviously Nic. Nic is great. He is such a complex character and I LOVED IT. I only wish we could have seen more of him.

The book was very well paced and even though there were some cheesy bits, it was a fun read. I actually really did enjoy all the complicated tangledness (trying to make a pun here guys, just roll with it.) I just wish we actually got more into the secret bartering bit and got to learn what exactly was happening and what kind of secrets the nobility traded to get things accomplished. I did enjoy the set up though and I also liked the world that Bross had created.

I would suggest not to get lured in by the promise of crime because this book doesn’t focus so much on the fascinating crime life than it does on Arista. It’s her story to a better life, not about how she engages in crime. The bits involving crime were great but also, like I said, it’s Arista’s story to a better life.

This was a fun book to read and while I didn’t love it, I’d still say it's something to read if you're in the mood for a light and entertaining book.

Post Script: I also just found out there will be a sequel and I am DEFINITELY curious to see where things will go! This could get verreh interesting.

The Bracelet is the first book by Dorothy Love that I’ve ever read. The title, the beautiful cover and the description of the book made me want to read it. It also has a good and classic cast of characters. A line up you would expect in historical fiction stories like this one.

The story is set in Savannah and loosely based on true events, a fact that for me made it appealing to read. It takes place in 1858, so the conflicts between North and South regarding slavery, secession and war are still palpable. It is not a book about slavery per se, the family portrayed isn’t a slave owning family, but being that it takes place during the Pre-Civil War time period, the situation is addressed.

The plot was good. After receiving a mysterious bracelet with what seems an omen of death, Celia decides to take matters on her hand by discovering on her own the mystery behind the bracelet and the true series of events of her family’s past in order to stop the despicable reporter, who is trying to ruin her family.

I was intrigued about the secrets behind the deaths. I kept trying to guess what would happen next and who did what. I questioned Celia’s actions and I kept suspecting on Ivy. I had a love and hate relationship with Ivy.

As I kept reading, the plot kept getting tangled, but tangled in a good way. Gladly in the end, it all made sense and they lived happily ever after. I liked this story, it kept me entertained.

I gave this book a rating of 3.5 out of 5 for 2 reasons:

1. Even though it was an enjoyable and interesting read, overall I felt like it didn’t fully meet my expectations of a “romance, rich historical detail, and breathtaking suspense”.

2. Despite the classic cast of characters, there was an important non -human character that I felt got a bit robbed: The Bracelet.

Other than that it was a good read and I liked it. 3.5/5 is a good rating in my scorebook.

The Bracelet is a story of mystery, secrets, death, murder, rivalry, and love that readers of historical fiction will enjoy. If you’re into love stories about wealthy southern belles this is the book for you. If you’re looking for a book about slavery, this is not the book for you. If you are looking for a book about a wealthy southern family in the 1850’s that didn’t own slaves, this is the book for you.

This was the first book by Dorothy Love that I’ve ever read. I wasn’t aware that she is a Christian writer. If you’re expecting this to be a Christian fiction book, this is not the book for you. Having read the book I would say the Christian message was so subtle that I didn’t find it. There are no crude offensive language or events, which makes it a safe book for readers who worry about that.

The Bracelet is a good book for young adults, adults and book clubs too. I can see discussions about dealing with sibling rivalry, family secrets, and/or women’s societal roles coming from reading this book.

I enjoyed Celia’s story and I will definitely check out Dorothy Love’s next historical romantic suspense novel that will be released in October 2015.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

I received an Electronic copy of this book but was not financially compensated in any way nor obliged to review. The opinions expressed are my own and are based on my personal experience while reading it. This post contains affiliate links.

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